Nikola Vucevic recently stated that he is confident that he will start next season with the Chicago Bulls, shutting down the rumors that they have been searching for trade partners for him. The big man spoke with BasketUSA.com (interview translated from French to English by HoopsHype):
“A week ago (the interview was done August 4), the Bulls GM (Marc Eversley), who had called me after all the rumors, confirmed that nothing was true and that everything we had discussed after the season still stood,” Vucevic said. “I already knew that, but it’s always nice when your GM calls to tell you.”
When asked whether or not he believed he would be in Chicago to begin next season, Vucevic was firm in his response: “Yes, I have almost no doubt. That’s the mindset I’m preparing with. After that, we’ll see—I don’t know what will happen.”
Should the Bulls want Nikola Vucevic?
Last year, Vucevic had one of his best seasons in years. He was remarkably efficient from beyond the three-point arc and is still a double-double machine, even at 34 years old.
On the one hand, Vucevic is still a solid player, despite being in the later stages of his career. On the other hand, the Bulls aren’t exactly in a position to be pushing for the playoffs right now. If anything, they should probably be looking to do the opposite.
The Eastern Conference is as wide open as ever, and the Bulls are still projected to be toward the bottom of the standings when the dust settles next season.
They have some intriguing pieces, such as Coby White, Matas Buzelis, and Josh Giddey, if they end up extending him, but not nearly enough to compete. Because of that, continuing to tear things down and hit the reset button should be at the top of their priority list.
Trading Vucevic would, in an ideal world, be a part of that plan. But historically speaking, Chicago has completely failed to capitalize on their trade chips.
They got almost no value back for Zach LaVine, Alex Caruso netted them no picks in return, they swapped out Lonzo Ball without getting any picks, and DeMar DeRozan left for almost nothing. It’s been disaster after disaster.
Hearing that Vucevic is confident he’ll be in Chicago next year may be a positive in terms of a communication standpoint (between the front office and the big man), but it’s also probably not the best situation for the Bulls to be in regarding their future.